Hot Lead: Shattering the Glass
by C4Cypher
Summary: There are many hero's in this city. One is not much different from the other in that they are all unique (almost). What starts as a somewhat normal day in the life of one hero turns sinister. First Submission.
1. Prolouge

Hot Lead

Shattering the glass

Disclaimer:

NCSoft owns COH, I love them, this game and all rights to this game belong to them

Hot Lead and Vania are the creations of C4Cypher and can be found on Guardian.

ZeroRaven is owned by himself, I have his permission to put him here.

Scarlett does not as yet know I've included her in this story so I haven't named the full character, I plan on asking permission.

Prologue: Rain

It was raining again, the kind of rain that accompanied the kind of barometric pressure that made you want to give yourself a frontal lobotomy ... preferably with a power tool rated over a hundred watts. It came down from a deep overcast sky that seemed to sag, weighing down on you, your inner ear, your soul. Some rains is refreshing, other rains are sad ... this rain was of the strain that brought weary boredom and depression.

His mood wasn't much better. Water running off the wide brim of his duster, his shoulder aching slightly, the weight of something cold and hard pulling on it by a leather strap. Hands in his pockets in a pitiful gesture of trying to stay dry when soaked to the skin. The head of a cigar glowing softly, matching his attire, a contrast to the grays of the dreary street that he travels.

The man in the red suit turned from his path on the sidewalk, stopping in front of an old, run down, government subsidized apartment. Swiping his hero registration card through the slot provided next to the door. He grimaced, glancing around the street for a moment before swiping again. An annoying buzzing sound signified the defective machinerys acceptance of the card. Stepping inside, he turned to the stairwell, climbing up to the fourth floor, not even halfway up the cheap apartment building.

He mused to himself as he made his way down the hall towards his front door. The place was old, but well kept for, with the exception of the occasional, hero power or magical related accident. There wasn't too much he could complain about this surrogate for a home, despite the fact that it was rather run down compared to what he was used to growing up. Stopping at his door, he began working his room key into the stubborn door lock.

"Goddess, youre soaking wet." His neighbor had peeked out of her doorway at him. She had an uncanny ability to sense when he was home. A small face, slanted brow and pointed ears gave a distinctly elfin appearance. Her features further slanted into a concerned look. "You're going to get sick if you keep going out in weather like this with what you're wearing ... use some sense and take a real coat." She chided, almost like a sibling would, bringing a soft smile to his face.

"Tsoo don't hide from the rain Vania, and my trench is on backorder. For some reason they have problems finding the right cloth properly dyed the way I like it." He smiled, turning in his open doorway to talk to the young lady.

Crossing her arms, she didn't sound too convinced, rolling her eyes softly as she gave him an admonishing look. "Are you that obsessed with dressing yourself like a colorblind gangster? It wouldn't kill you to dress like a normal person every once and a while for the sake of health, catching pneumonia will."

He let a soft chuckle out as he shook his head, crossing his arms as he leaned against the doorway. "And what about you? I don't think I've ever seen you in something other than green and brown, and wearing a long sleeve with a miniskirt? That hasn't been in since the seventies."

She frowned, looking confused for a moment. Hummphing and turning to go inside her own apartment ... "Just don't blame me if you can't fight evil because you caught something nasty ..."

The man laughed softly and entered his own home, his smile fading as he locked the door behind him, stripping off the soaking suit. Perhaps she was right, his head was pounding and his legs ached as if he'd been running a marathon. Ever since he'd helped to defend the Terra Volta reactor complex he'd had to replace the neural uplink attached to his skull. He hadn't counted on the radiation messing up his gear, and was the price he paid for having the extensive surgeries and implants based on his father's technology. Unfortunately for him, his body was still adjusting to the replacement neural interface ... admittedly, the new gear was an improvement on what he had before, but it was still an extremely unpleasant process.

As he laid back in his recliner, the pain reminded him that he wasn't in this silly 'superhero' business for the money, fame or other opportunities that opened for those who succeeded in paragon. He was in it because he believed in defending the free people of his home with the fury of Hot Lead escaping the muzzle of a gun … he was also in it to get away, escape from demons of the past.


	2. Fog

Hot Lead

Shattering the glass

Disclaimer:

NCSoft owns COH, I love them this game and all rights to this game belong to them

Chapter 1: Fog

Talos Island was a bit of a paradox. It teemed with life and activity, people constantly going about their business, seeking entertainment, or simply hanging around. It seemed like any other bustling coastline tourist community. This would be all well and good if not for the fact that it was also a very dangerous place to be. Freakshow punks constantly roamed the back alleys, causing trouble and being a persistent nuisance ... if nothing else than just being an eyesore. On the other hand, you could look into just about any corridor and find a few members of the 'warrior' gang or the Tsoo organization plotting some sinister deal. Keeping the streets safe was a constant and seemingly endless challenge, almost more so than in other parts of the city that had been rebuilt.

Hot Lead smiled softly as he strolled down the sidewalk. His bright red suit and low brimmed duster blazing out against the drab wear of the surrounding citizens. He couldn't fly or didn't otherwise seem to glow with immense power, but even so, he had the aura of a hunter about him.

Other than the gaudy shade of his clothing, the other blaringly noticeable aspect about his wear was the M200H Hero issue 'enforcer' assault rifle slung over his shoulder. Possibly one of the most noticeable and currently popular assault weapons in the western world, the 'H' Model of the Enforcer was permitted and regulated by the United States and Paragon City governments for law enforcement use by registered heroes. Combined assault rifle, twelve gauge shotgun, thirty millimeter grenade launcher and flamethrower, it changed any competent gunman into a one man army. To save weight, Hot had removed the grenade launcher and flamethrower from 'Susan', replacing the grenade magazine with a drum for twelve gauge shells, maintaining the 'tommy gun' look of the weapon.

In addition to the rifle, Hot Lead had a few other tricks hiding under his red suit. Softball sized caltrop capsules were attached to his belt loop next to a few 'web' grenades. He also carried a few of the newer, more 'environment friendly' smoke grenades ... apparently the manufacturers had removed the ingredient that made the things feel like teargas grenades, but even so, they were still a little useful for cover. An active stealth cloaking system and a Crey tech model targeting drone completed the ensemble, and Hot did what he could to keep all of that comfortably concealed beneath his bright red Armani suit.

The meeting place was at the end of Spanky's boardwalk. He smiled as he saw the cloaked figure and a hot little redhead with flames licking up from her shoulders. Today would not go without excitement. He let a grin form around the smoking end of his cigar, a hand tipping up to adjust his shades. Walking up to the other two heroes, he chuckled. "I hope you guys weren't waiting too long for me ... "

The man in the cloak narrowed his eyes, his face shrouded in the shadow of his hood, dark power emanating off of him in a wave. His voice was stern but hinting of humor. "Knowing you, waiting too long would have been if you had gotten captured or sent to the hospital. If you spent half the time you spend on cleaning that toy of yours with a woman, you would have spawned a family large enough to fill a minivan by now."

Hot laughed and unshouldered the weapon ... checking the safety and sighting down the weapon for a moment. "Then maybe it's a good thing that Susan is my girl, more bite, less obligation, just the way I like it. Besides Zero, you really want a minivan full of little Hot Lead's running around?"

"I think the evidence speaks for itself."

ZeroRaven was a figure as dark and mysterious as he was unpredictable and potentially dangerous. He and Hot had gone way back together, meeting shortly after Hot had registered as a hero. At first he had found the man a little odd and very reclusive, but a good fighting partner. One of the reasons Hot Lead continued to hang around Zero after first meeting him was that throwing ZeroRaven into a fight between heroes and villains was like throwing a big, angry, drunk Irishman into a bar fight ... you were definitely going to turn some heads. Considering that Hot preferred to snipe from a distance or in the shadows, the distraction was well worth it.

ZeroRaven's powers were frightening; it seemed as if reality itself bent to his will. Picking up thugs and slamming them against any convenient surface ... pulling rather large objects out of portals to throw at the enemy ... gravity and the fabric of space were his playthings. His moods were about as unpredictable as is abilities were powerful, changing from his usual strong silence to sudden blazing fits of rage or periods of a soft benevolence ... he could be a kind, gentle soul and he could be a sadistic madman, you just had to catch him at the right time, something that helped Hot Lead enjoy his friendship with the man, you'd never know how he'd react to a situation. One thing was clear though, ZeroRaven had some serious personal demons to deal with, either that or a monkey on his back the size of King Kong.

He hadn't known Scarlett nearly as long as he'd known ZeroRaven, but her enthusiasm, sense of humor and ability to throw blazing balls of pain at bad people made her a welcome teammate. She carried a little more status as a hero than Hot Lead did, being a leader for an organized super-group that he loosely associated himself as a member of. Full membership of a super-group such as Infinity was something that he'd considered, but he liked freelance work. It was unpredictable, chaotic at times, and he picked his own hours, played by his own rules.

She smiled at the two male heroes, managing to keep silent

Hot Lead managed a grin at Zero's dry remark, the sun shining off of his tinted sunglasses. He re-shouldered his weapon, changing the subject. "So ... you're message said that we were heading into fog town again?" He sighed softly "Not a good place to work the kinks out of these new legs."

Scarlet nodded softly. "Sorry Hot, but Infinity's received reports of people being kidnapped by zombies in the west side of Talos. Vazhilok's follower's aren't really active around here so that kind of narrows it down to Pantheon.

"Dark Astoria it is, and just talking about it wont accomplish what needs to be done ... shall we started?" Zero rumbled, shifting impatiently as the sun rose in the sky. His body defying gravity as he began to hover off the ground with his arms crossed.

"Too true, meet you guys at the gate." Scarlet nodded as both she and ZeroRaven took off into the air.

Hot Lead smirked, not having been gifted with the blessing of flight ... stretching his legs out as he could feel the components shift inside him, preparing for their purpose. He broke off into a sprint, running in pursuit of the other two heroes.

"Time to see how these new legs work." A sharp strain to his muscles signaled the alloyed bones and mechanical muscle enhancements to kick in. The hero gasped in surprise as he stumbled, the legs much more powerful and agile than he was used to. "Quite the upgrade ..." Although his implants were only rated to assist in jumping before the upgrade, these new models were more versatile, able to assist in a much wider variety of motion. He winced and grunted softly in pain as his legs spun up into a blurring rhythm, it was a feeling that took a moment to get used to. The sandy shore and rocks of the Island disappeared under his feet at a sickening rate.

The sand ended, leaving a bridge and a large expanse of water between him and the gate to Dark Astoria, commonly referred to 'DA' by many of the locals and heroes of the area. He made a soft leap spanning about ten feet. He landed with both shoes as he bent his knees deeply. A whining sound came from his legs as he wound up for a real jump. He shoved off, and his legs seemed to fire off like a pair of cannons as he felt massive g-forces claw at his body.

Glancing around him, he grinned as he remembered how much he loved the feeling of hurtling through the air like a home run gone wild. The feeling of flying turned to the feeling of falling just before he landed on the bridge in a three point kneeling stance. His knees bended as they compensated for the enormous impact on his legs, only to cock, charge and fire off again in a fraction of a second, sending him flying towards the massive gate in the city divider wall that separated Dark Astoria from the other security zones.

Landing at the gate entrance, he looked up to see the security control officer checking the paperwork of his two comrades. Still exhilarated over the rush of freefall and excited by the prospect of battle with the Praetorians, he chuckled to himself internally that it was times like this that made this life worth it to him.


End file.
